and in the declension of its nouns. Were it possible or necessary

to collect all the relics of this speech, they would probably
amount to four or five thousand words; but to effect such an

achievement, it would be necessary to hold close and long
intercourse with almost every Gitano in Spain, and to extract, by

various means, the peculiar information which he might be capable
of affording; for it is necessary to state here, that though such

an amount of words may still exist amongst the Gitanos in general,
no single individual of their sect is in possession of one-third

part thereof, nor indeed, we may add, those of any single city or
province of Spain; nevertheless all are in possession, more or

less, of the language, so that, though of different provinces, they
are enabled to understand each other tolerably well, when

discoursing in this their characteristic speech. Those who travel
most are of course best versed in it, as, independent of the words

of their own village or town, they acquire others by intermingling
with their race in various places. Perhaps there is no part of

Spain where it is spoken better than in Madrid, which is easily
accounted for by the fact, that Madrid, as the capital, has always

been the point of union of the Gitanos, from all those provinces of
Spain where they are to be found. It is least of all preserved in

Seville, notwithstanding that its Gitano population is very
considerable, consisting, however, almost entirely of natives of

the place. As may well be supposed, it is in all places best
preserved amongst the old people, their children being

comparatively ignorant of it, as perhaps they themselves are in
comparison with their own parents. We are persuaded that the

Gitano language of Spain is nearly at its last stage of existence,
which persuasion has been our main instigator to the present

attempt to collect its scanty remains, and by the assistance of the
press, rescue it in some degree from destruction. It will not be

amiss to state here, that it is only by listening attentively to
the speech of the Gitanos, whilst discoursing amongst themselves,

that an acquaintance with their dialect can be formed, and by
seizing upon all unknown words as they fall in succession from

their lips. Nothing can be more useless and hopeless than the
attempt to obtain possession of their vocabulary by inquiring of

them how particular objects and ideas are styled; for with the
exception of the names of the most common things, they are totally

incapable, as a Spanish writer has observed, of yielding the
required information, owing to their great ignorance, the shortness

of their memories, or rather the state of bewilderment to which
their minds are brought by any question which tends to bring their

reasoning faculties into action, though not unfrequently the very
words which have been in vain required of them will, a minute

subsequently, proceed inadvertently from their mouths.
We now take leave of their language. When wishing to praise the

proficiency of any individual in their tongue, they are in the
habit of saying, 'He understands the seven jargons.' In the Gospel

which we have printed in this language, and in the dictionary which
we have compiled, we have endeavoured, to the utmost of our

ability, to deserve that compliment; and at all times it will
afford us sincere and heartfelt pleasure to be informed that any

Gitano, capable of appreciating the said little works, has
observed, whilstreading them or hearing them read: It is clear

that the writer of these books understood
THE SEVEN JARGONS.

ON ROBBER LANGUAGE; OR, AS IT IS CALLED IN SPAIN, GERMANIA
'So I went with them to a music booth, where they made me almost

drunk with gin, and began to talk their FLASH LANGUAGE, which I did
not understand.' - Narrative of the Exploits of Henry Simms,

executed at Tyburn, 1746.
'Hablaronse los dos en Germania, de lo qual resulto darme un

abraco, y ofrecerseme.' - QUEVEDO. Vida dal gran Tacano.
HAVING in the preceding article endeavoured to afford all necessary

information concerning the Rommany, or language used by the Gypsies
amongst themselves, we now propose to turn our attention to a

subject of no less interest, but which has hitherto never been
treated in a manner calculated to lead to any satisfactory result

or conclusion; on the contrary, though philosophic minds have been
engaged in its consideration, and learned pens have not disdained

to occupy themselves with its details, it still remains a singular
proof of the errors into which the most acute and laboriouswriters

are apt to fall, when they take upon themselves the task of writing
on matters which cannot be studied in the closet, and on which no

information can be received by mixing in the society of the wise,
the lettered, and the respectable, but which must be investigated

in the fields, and on the borders of the highways, in prisons, and
amongst the dregs of society. Had the latter system been pursued

in the matter now before us, much clearer, more rational, and more
just ideas would long since have been entertained respecting the

Germania, or language of thieves.
In most countries of Europe there exists, amongst those who obtain

their existence by the breach of the law, and by preying upon the
fruits of the labours of the quiet and orderlyportion of society,

a particular jargon or dialect, in which the former discuss their
schemes and plans of plunder, without being in general understood

by those to whom they are obnoxious. The name of this jargon
varies with the country in which it is spoken. In Spain it is

called 'Germania'; in France, 'Argot'; in Germany, 'Rothwelsch,' or
Red Italian; in Italy, 'Gergo'; whilst in England it is known by

many names; for example, 'cant, slang, thieves' Latin,' etc. The
most remarkable circumstance connected with the history of this

jargon is, that in all the countries in which it is spoken, it has
invariably, by the authors who have treated of it, and who are

numerous, been confounded with the Gypsy language, and asserted to
be the speech of those wanderers who have so long infested Europe

under the name of Gitanos, etc. How far this belief is founded in
justice we shall now endeavour to show, with the premise that

whatever we advance is derived, not from the assertions or opinions
of others, but from our own observation; the point in question

being one which no person is capable of solving, save him who has
mixed with Gitanos and thieves, - not with the former merely or the

latter, but with both.
We have already stated what is the Rommany or language of the

Gypsies. We have proved that when properlyspoken it is to all
intents and purposes entitled to the appellation of a language, and

that wherever it exists it is virtually the same; that its origin
is illustrious, it being a daughter of the Sanscrit, and in

consequence in close connection with some of the most celebrated
languages of the East, although it at present is only used by the

most unfortunate and degraded of beings, wanderers without home and
almost without country, as wherever they are found they are

considered in the light of foreigners and interlopers. We shall
now state what the language of thieves is, as it is generally

spoken in Europe; after which we shall proceed to analyse it
according to the various countries in which it is used.

The dialect used for their own peculiar purposes amongstthieves is
by no means entitled to the appellation of a language, but in every

sense to that of a jargon or gibberish, it being for the most part
composed of words of the native language of those who use it,

according to the particular country, though invariably in a meaning
differing more or less from the usual and received one, and for the

most part in a metaphorical sense. Metaphor and allegory, indeed,
seem to form the nucleus of this speech, notwithstanding that other

elements are to be distinguished; for it is certain that in every
country where it is spoken, it contains many words differing from

the language of that country, and which may either be traced to
foreign tongues, or are of an origin at which, in many instances,

it is impossible to arrive. That which is most calculated to
strike the philosophic mind when considering this dialect, is

doubtless the fact of its being formed everywhere upon the same
principle - that of metaphor, in which point all the branches

agree, though in others they differ as much from each other as the
languages on which they are founded; for example, as the English

and German from the Spanish and Italian. This circumstance
naturally leads to the conclusion that the robber language has not